Web Video / The Classroom

What a Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits...

The Classroom is a class project/webseries, and Affectionate Parody of The Office (US). Set in the titular classroom of West Florida High School, in a Senior Multimedia class, whose focus is school news and video projects, the show follows the wacky hijinks of the class's students. Led by a lazy and apathetic teacher, Mr. Justin Luciano, the students must deal with rivalries among each other, demands of the greater school area, and other mayhem and mischief.

Being a class project, it should be noted the show's target audience were the students and staff of the school in which it is set, but that doesn't stop one from enjoying the show, as it's easy enough to follow without much prior knowledge. The Classroom follows its source material's mockumentary style, and takes more than a few pages out of its book when it comes to characters and style. The series lasted seven episodes throughout 2014, until the starring class graduated. It ended inconclusively, with other episodes being planned and written, but left unfinished.

The first official episode (discounting the unofficial pilot), can be found: here

The unofficial pilot (which is considered non-canon and is a Random Events Plot lacking the current series' tone and style can be watched here: here

The Classroom contains examples of:

• A Day in the Limelight: Most episodes will revolve around two or three of the main cast, with some being more ensemble-based.
  • The pilot is one for Scooter
  • The third episode for Jason and Garrett.
  • The fourth for Ashley, and to a lesser extent Taylor.
  • The fifth episode is one for Scooter and Anthony.
• Affectionate Parody: of The Office (US), complete with the credits theme.
• Always in Class One
• Apathetic Teacher: Luciano. Averted by Mrs. Reda though.
• Aside Glance: Like it's source material, The Classroom is fond of these from time to time.
• As Himself: The entire cast.
• Batman Gambit: Used by Luciano in the first episode to trick Scooter into getting a referral.
• Benevolent Boss: Played mostly straight by Luciano, and moreso by Mrs. Reda.
• Berserk Button: Jason has one when Scooter is recognized over him.
• Be Yourself: The point of the fourth episode.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Garrett and Anthony, while not outright villains, can cause a lot of trouble for the rest of the cast with their antics, intentional or not.
• Big "NO!": Jason closes out the first episode with one.
• Billing Displacement: Luciano appears less and less frequently, despite being featured first in the credits. See Real Life Writes the Plot below.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Taylor, sort of.
• Breather Episode: The 6th episode, which follows the rather turbulent Valentine's Day Episode.
• Brick Joke: There's almost always one at the end of each episode.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Luciano, and also Scooter.
• Broken Aesop: Often used to comedic effect; for example, the fourth episode has everyone undergo New Years Resolutions to better themselves, resulting in them becoming completely different people. Everything's returned to normal by the end - but "normal" isn't a reassuring prospect.
• Butt-Monkey: Myles
• Cheshire Cat Grin: Garrett has one in the Christmas Episode, in a Shout-Out to the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! cartoon.
• Christmas Episode: The third episode, no less.
• Comedic Sociopathy: The show practically runs on this.
• Comically Missing the Point: Everyone assumes that New Years Resolutions are about changing their entire personalities rather than simply improving themselves as they are.
• Continuity Nod: Garrett references Taylor called him "friendless" in the 5th episode.
• Directed by Cast Member: Every single episode is, as it's produced by Multimedia students. The show is as much a project for them as anything else.
• Eagleland: Type II slightly invoked by Anthony in his PDA lecture, stating that in America, hugging isn't tolerated and that "we are not a loving culture."
• Early-Bird Cameo: Corey and Addie appear in the credits at least two episodes before their characters are properly introduced.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: With Luciano being Out of Focus, the first episode seems odd with him in place as the teacher, the lack of a subplot, no Zany Scheme from Garrett and Anthony, and Jason and Scooter's rivalry is toned down in favor of Jason's Yes-Man characterization and Scooter's delusions of favoritism.
  • Even stranger in hindsight is the unofficial pilot, which has very little in common with the current series. Luciano is still the teacher, but is more sympathetic and willing to listen. Scooter is more aware of his and Jason's rivalry, rather than blissfully ignorant of it, and he actively (rather than accidentally) antagonizes him. Jason is more creative than controlling, Garrett and Anthony are more hyperactive comic relief than malicious snarkers, Kameron is a Covert Pervert, and Myles only has one scene. Additionally, the entire episode revolves around a project for the news, which isn't as big a plot point in the current series. While it was intended to introduce an audience to the series, it bears very little semblance to what the show has recently become.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Garrett has one in the Christmas Episode.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble: Shared among the cast, it generally goes:
  • The Cynics are Garrett and Taylor, who actively hate everyone and everything.
  • The Optimists are Myles and Ashley, who maintain positive outlooks despite their shortcomings.
  • The Realists are Jason and Luciano, who approach situations rationally and see both sides of issues.
  • The Apathetics are Anthony and Kameron, who sit back and watch, or participate halfheartedly.
• Friendship Moment: Jason's apology to Scooter in the fifth episode is easily one.
• Funny Background Event: Often invoked during talking heads of the cast.
• Gone Horribly Right: Many episodic plots run on this, like the 4th and 5th episodes.
• Happily Married: Luciano reminds the class that he's married and has children in defense that he's not a computer nerd. Apparently it "Proves nothing."
• Heel Realization: Garrett at the end of the third episode, and pretty much everyone at the end of the fourth.
• How the Character Stole Christmas: Loosely done with Garrett in the Christmas episode.
• In Series Nick Name: "Lucy" for Luciano. He doesn't seem to mind.
  • "Scooter" is also technically a nickname.
• Irony: Garrett and Taylor's mutual hatred of romance and couples results in them developing unexpected UST.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Jason concedes that Garrett's right about Ashley New Years resolution plan hurt them more than it helped them.
• Kick the Dog: Scooter and Myles receive the worst of it.
• Kissing Discretion Shot: Taylor and Garrett's kiss from the Valentines Day Episode is obscured by Myles's untimely entrance.
• Lampshade Hanging: Garrett points out that there was no reason to do New Years Resolutions at the end of January towards the end of the 4th episode, referencing the episode's late release.
• Light Feminine Dark Feminine: Ashley is Light - being outgoing and seeing the best in the others, while Taylor is dark - being jaded and guarded.
• Living Prop: Most people who aren't in the main cast qualify as this as nameless students in the background.
• Lonely Together: Garrett and Taylor during the 5th episode.
• Mockumentary
• Mood Whiplash: Regularly used; the most notable is likely in the Valentine's Day Episode, where Jason delivers a particularly hurtful speech to Scooter and walks away. Then we cut to Anthony condemning twerking as disgustingly resembling "violent pooping," and being completely serious about the entire thing.
• No Antagonist: The source of most conflicts are the students' own faults.
• Ostentatious Secret: Luciano's secret box would be more of a secret if he didn't make such a huge deal about it.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Garrett's Janitor disguise. It's literally just a jumpsuit and fake mustache.
• Pet the Dog: Occasionally, Luciano reveals that he does actually care about his students, if not about teaching them.
• Poor Communication Kills: Garrett and Taylor over the course of the 6th episode.
• Out of Focus: Luciano, increasingly so.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The cast gradually evolve into this.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Because Luciano took up a new job at the school as its Technology Coordinator, he had to replaced both in and out of the show by Mrs. Reda. He still stays on occasionally, but not nearly as often as was planned.
• Replacement Scrappy: Averted by Mrs. Reda as Luciano's replacement for Luciano in-universe. Jason notes she certainly appreciates him more.
• Romance Ensues: Garrett and Taylor over the course of the 5th episode.
• Running Gag: Anthony seeming to practically live under the news desk.
• Seinfeldian Conversation: The fourth episode opens with the cast debating who the best comedian to deeply kiss is.
• Sanity Slippage: Ashley over the course of the fourth episode.
• School Club Stories: It's not a club, but as a Career Academy, the Multimedia class is close enough.
• Slouch of Villainy: Garrett is often seated this way, with his legs propped up somewhere.
• Ship Tease: Garrett and Taylor in the fifth episode, which later becomes regular UST
• Shout-Out: Several. The second episode has Jason practically quote the Joker's speech to Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight.
• Spoof Aesop: While most episodes have some genuine lesson learned by the cast, some are parodied.
• Take That!: To twerking in the 5th episode as part of Anthony's PDA lecture.
• That Didn't Happen: Taylor and Garrett reluctantly state this of their interaction on Valentine's Day.
• Those Two Guys: Garrett and Anthony, though they regularly branch off from each other.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: They're Multimedia students, but their projects and such are only ever mentioned in passing, and even then, it seems most of the class spend their time goofing off than working.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Garrett thinks he's doing this during the 4th episode, but he's not.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Taylor when she becomes the new teacher in the second episode, if only for a brief moment.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Almost everyone at some point, save Myles.
• Valentine's Day Episode: The 5th episode.
• Wacky Homeroom: The entire premise.
• Weirdness Magnet: The Classroom as a whole, and to a lesser extent, Luciano; he doesn't escape the kids' antics even after his promotion.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Jason in his efforts to better the class. The same could occasionally be said for Garrett and Anthony.
• What Could Have Been: Luciano was going to stay on and evolve into a more blatant Michael Scott Expy, and several episodes such as Back to the Future and '*The Shining'' parodies were scrapped as being too unjustified for the Mockumentary style.
• Whole-Plot Reference: Garrett's subplot in the Christmas episode is a very loose one of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
• Will Ferrell: Referred to in the fourth episode as the best comedian to make out with.
• With Friends Like These...: Myles's relationship with the rest of the cast.
• Written by Cast Member: The show's writing team consists of actors Jason, Anthony, Garrett, and Corey.
• You Look Familiar: Miller Hawkins, who plays one of the teacher candidates in Episode 2 appears again in Episode 4 as a nameless student.